In dystopic future hit by nuclear disaster on the edge of social disorder, judiciary system is held together by judges, the only force for order who act as judge, jury and executioner.
Judge Dredd is assigned as supervisor to rookie Anderson, a powerful psychic who marginally failed the aptitude tests to become a Judge but, is given one more chance as she can be a valuable asset for Judge Order in future. Their visit to notorious slum tower block called Peach Trees turns into bloody mission for survival as they get in the way of Ma-ma, gang lord and main dealer of new powerful drug...
Director Peter Travis wastes no time and in 15 minutes introduces us to main characters, plot and atmosphere. It is a violent world where life is worth nothing and survivors are those who are lucky or rough, and in most cases both at the same time. Action and Dredd's coolness packed with his one liners leads him up the slum to Ma-ma, with packs of bodies behind.
In couple of moments film tries to touch ethical dilemmas of simplified justice judges use to efficiently punish offenders, as well as world in which people are turned into piece of meat system needs to deal with, but does not go into much depth. According to its setting, same is applied in aesthetic with explicit violent scenes of combat or death.
Karl Urban is convincing and never goes over the edge trying to over show what he can do, as Stallone did in 1995 adaptation. Effort he put in physical training as well, as micro expressions, are nice touch to the role as it is to see Dredd moving like a pro and not waving his gun like gang member. Urban put his heart in his role and showed that hard work works, even if as an actor you don't have half of your face to show. Thirbly is solid as rookie that tries to pull herself together but gets shocked by real world outside combat simulator.
There are things that could have been better. Some gang members look like they've just gone out of "want to be gangster" fashion saloon - tattoo, dirty talk, Kalashnikov, but at the same time seem so naive they cannot wait to be fooled by Dredd, or simply try to catch the bullet. Also, especially at beginning, it seems that Dredd and Anderson are taking too many bad guys with their smart gun that it makes you wonder what they would do without it. Luckily, as they progress there are couple of action scenes that show why Dredd is No 1 judge in town. Character of Ma-ma is puzzling but as narrative progresses does not go much into depth of her motivation. It is shame as this makes her convincing, but not one of the greatest villains we've seen.
Mentioned above are common headaches most action movies of this type have and will not spoil your enjoyment if you are fan of action films, since Dredd does everything he promises - good action, believable characters, avoids most clichés and has good atmosphere.
As I watched Dredd couple days ago, it came to my surprise that's third time I've seen it. It's that kind of film you will not see twice in a row but after a while it will be your pick after you been through all action classic, as a fond memory that does not fade as time goes by. I guess Dredd is that kind of movie they don't make anymore. And will not anytime soon as Dredd world wide's earnings managed to barely cover budget expenses. Shame, as Dredd is excellent adaptation that is praised by fans and is appreciated by everybody else. And rightly so.
Judge Dredd is assigned as supervisor to rookie Anderson, a powerful psychic who marginally failed the aptitude tests to become a Judge but, is given one more chance as she can be a valuable asset for Judge Order in future. Their visit to notorious slum tower block called Peach Trees turns into bloody mission for survival as they get in the way of Ma-ma, gang lord and main dealer of new powerful drug...
Director Peter Travis wastes no time and in 15 minutes introduces us to main characters, plot and atmosphere. It is a violent world where life is worth nothing and survivors are those who are lucky or rough, and in most cases both at the same time. Action and Dredd's coolness packed with his one liners leads him up the slum to Ma-ma, with packs of bodies behind.
In couple of moments film tries to touch ethical dilemmas of simplified justice judges use to efficiently punish offenders, as well as world in which people are turned into piece of meat system needs to deal with, but does not go into much depth. According to its setting, same is applied in aesthetic with explicit violent scenes of combat or death.
Karl Urban is convincing and never goes over the edge trying to over show what he can do, as Stallone did in 1995 adaptation. Effort he put in physical training as well, as micro expressions, are nice touch to the role as it is to see Dredd moving like a pro and not waving his gun like gang member. Urban put his heart in his role and showed that hard work works, even if as an actor you don't have half of your face to show. Thirbly is solid as rookie that tries to pull herself together but gets shocked by real world outside combat simulator.
There are things that could have been better. Some gang members look like they've just gone out of "want to be gangster" fashion saloon - tattoo, dirty talk, Kalashnikov, but at the same time seem so naive they cannot wait to be fooled by Dredd, or simply try to catch the bullet. Also, especially at beginning, it seems that Dredd and Anderson are taking too many bad guys with their smart gun that it makes you wonder what they would do without it. Luckily, as they progress there are couple of action scenes that show why Dredd is No 1 judge in town. Character of Ma-ma is puzzling but as narrative progresses does not go much into depth of her motivation. It is shame as this makes her convincing, but not one of the greatest villains we've seen.
Mentioned above are common headaches most action movies of this type have and will not spoil your enjoyment if you are fan of action films, since Dredd does everything he promises - good action, believable characters, avoids most clichés and has good atmosphere.
As I watched Dredd couple days ago, it came to my surprise that's third time I've seen it. It's that kind of film you will not see twice in a row but after a while it will be your pick after you been through all action classic, as a fond memory that does not fade as time goes by. I guess Dredd is that kind of movie they don't make anymore. And will not anytime soon as Dredd world wide's earnings managed to barely cover budget expenses. Shame, as Dredd is excellent adaptation that is praised by fans and is appreciated by everybody else. And rightly so.